A Field Guide to Otherkin -- OUT OF PRINT

A Field Guide to Otherkin is a book about otherkin written by Lupa and published by Immanion Press. This book was the first book focusing on the otherkin community in its entirety, and was intended to give outsiders an overview of the community. It relied heavily on responses to surveys which were distributed throughout the community, as well as some online interviews and citations from various otherkin websites.

Otherkin are people who identify on some level as other than human. Curious to find out more? This is your introduction to this unique subculture!

The Otherkin community is a small but growing subculture of people who identify in some way--spiritually, metaphorically, etc.--as Other than human. Some resonate with dragons, while others believe they were elves in another life, and still others identify as wolves, great cats, and other animals.

Of course, this all may seem a little odd to those who aren't Otherkin. What do Otherkin believe? Why do we believe these things? How does being Otherkin affect how we relate to the world around us--and ourselves? A Field Guide to Otherkin offers answers straight from over 100 survey respondents, collected by Lupa, herself a wolf therianthrope, and elaborated upon by her.

A Field Guide to Otherkin is designed to inform both Otherkin and non-Otherkin about the community and the people and beliefs that create it. Rather than being a collection of statistics, it is a look into the lives of Otherkin, qualitative rather than quantitative.

Excerpt
Otherkin don't always advertise as such to non-'kin. We don't have 'I am an elf/dragon/wolf' tattooed on our foreheads (though some of us have more discreet tattoos that are related to being 'kin); those who dress for their 'kin selves usually are assumed to be parts of other subcultures, such as pagans, Goths or hippies. Coming out of the 'kin closet is generally reserved for people who are known to be 'kin-friendly. In the event that Otherkin come out to people who are completely clueless about us, the reaction can be pretty underwhelming. It's a rare case when someone actually gets a serious negative reaction (and being told you're weird doesn't count). I've yet to hear of anyone being forcibly institutionalized, drugged, disowned, or otherwise abused for coming out as 'kin. The worst that tends to happen is teasing and gossip. This isn't to say that worse situations can't and don't happen, but for the most part they're pretty rare. (For more information on coming out, please see Chapter 9, 'So You Think You're Otherkin').

That being said, most 'kin lead pretty normal lives. We hold jobs, raise families, have hobbies, and most of us blend into society pretty well. We come from a variety of backgrounds and lifestyles. There does appear to be a high proportion of overlap with other subcultures. For example, there are a lot of geeks among Otherkin, which may lead outsiders to believe we're all wrapped up in anime, technological advances, specialized intellectual pursuits, and we all work in computer-related fields. While this is true for some, keep in mind also that the bulk of Otherkin information is internet-based, and so the community tends toward the computer-friendly. Still, trying to typecast all Otherkin as geeks (or by any other subcultural label) is pretty futile and does a disservice to those who don't fit the stereotype. Those who are open-minded enough to accept the idea of Otherkin tend to also accept and even embrace other subcultures, but this doesn't mean that all 'kin like to buck the system.

So how does being 'kin affect everyday life? Not nearly so much as you'd think. Otherkin status doesn't automatically make a person vastly different from the rest of the world. Usually it's more a matter of the nonhuman traits coloring the perception.